We are very excited to be gardening this year! Not on our place, but at friends’. When I went there early this week for planning, she sent me home with a box full of beautiful rainbow chard.
To be honest, I have never served dark leafy greens much — and the last time was so long ago that I didn’t know whether my family would care for it this time. But they did like it, and very much! We ate this easy side dish with two dinners, and there was still chard to feed Gracie, our Jersey.
The best method for eating and preparing dark leafy greens — such as chard, spinach and beet greens — is a light steaming. When raw, these vegetables contain oxalic acid which blocks calcium and iron absorption, and light cooking serves to neutralize some of the oxalic acid while retaining the vitamins and minerals.
I save the addition of feta for when the steamed chard has cooled somewhat — so the beneficial organisms in my raw feta cheese don’t die. (Next week, the feta cheese lesson goes up in the Cultured Dairy & Basic Cheese eCourse.)
Feta and Chard
- 7 to 9 large leaves of rainbow chard – washed, dried and cut up (even stems)
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- sea salt, pepper and dried, powdered garlic
- 1/8 to 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (preferably raw) — learn how to make your own in the Cultured Dairy & Basic Cheese eCourse
Steam the chard until just wilted, yet still colorful. Discard the cooking water (it contains the oxalic acid) and transfer the chard to a serving bowl. Drizzle on melted butter. Sprinkle with seasonings. Toss and adjust seasonings to taste. When cooled, toss with feta cheese. Serve and enjoy!
How do you serve dark leafy greens?
This post is shared with the Chard: Seasonal Recipe Round-Up, right here at gnowfglins.com.
About Wardeh
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Looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe
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My family loves swiss chard too. We grow the rainbow variety, a regular light stemmed one and this year I am trying a rhubard variety that has red stems as well. We love it so much (especially my 5 year old) that I blanch and freeze the left overs in the fall for winter use. I add it to soup (borscht or think Italian wedding, but with chard substitued for spinach) or just steam it and serve it hot with lots of butter and salt and pepper.
We have this planted also.We adore turnip greens.My grandchildren can’t get enough of them.I cook them with onion..salt..pepper…garlic and a touch of ham or bacon.We eat them as a meal with cornbread and sometimes navy beans or pintos.Yummy!
Cindy
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We eat lots of dark leafy greens. Our favorite way is to either wilt the greens or saute gently in bacon grease, season with salt, pepper and sometimes garlic. I sometimes cut up a boiled in the greens as well.
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My husband is Korean so I cook most items with an Asian flare. For greens I sauté them with garlic. Once done I drizzle with sesame seed oil and sprinkle with salt. Right before serving I add some toasted sesame seeds and a some thin cut green onions.
Waggie — Oh, that sounds delish! I love those flavors. We will definitely try this!
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I started eating chard a few years ago after one of my friends made me dinner in California which included chard. I instantly loved the taste. Usually I cook it by boiling it up and either drizzling with olive or or melting butter on it. Doesn’t need a lot after that.
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Fresh, crisp, and full of life – The swiss chard looks yummy! Your family is so fortunate to have a health-minded chef like you!
I will have to try this recipe out one day.
We enjoy sauteing them with garlic and then adding a tiny amount of raw apple cider vinegar at the end. Yum!
Julieanne
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I have recently become a big chard fan since I had some swiss chard in my produce co-op basket I’m apart of and when my friends don’t like something, they give it to me so I had some extra chard to play with. I loved it sauteed with fresh garlic and I put in some ginger and rice vinegar for an asian twist along side potstickers. I also tossed some in with some vegetable curry I whipped up and I loved it. Last thing I did was a onion pizza with ricotta and chard. The pizza crust I bought was total crap, but other than that it was was a yummy pizza. Here is the link to the recipe – http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/health/nutrition/29recipehealth.html?_r=3
Like many have also mentioned, I saute chard with onions and garlic, I also add it to my stir fries.
However, I did NOT know about draining off the water. I’ll have to work on my recipes a bit and get back to you. I have some beautiful leaves in m garden just asking to be picked.
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O, forgot to say that I’m excited to use your recipe with the feta. I love feta. Thanks for the recipe.
Tanya recently posted… Sweet Peas
This recipe looks yummy! Chard is my favorite green vegetable. I love sautéing in butter with fresh basil and sprinkling with crumbled goat cheese.
One question about the oxalic acid–can I sauté my chard in butter/ghee/coconut oil and add it directly to my soups or do I need to drain after sautéing, then add? For example, can i sauté my carrots, garlic etcetera, then add greens just until wilted (1 or 2 minutes), then add broth and spices and finish cooking the soup? Or, should I cook greens separately, drain, and add to soup after the soup is done cooking? I definitely don’t want oxalic acid in the soup.
Thanks for this series Wardeh! Looking forward to the info on different veggies. I’ve been doing a CSA for almost 2 years and new ideas and information are always helpful!